


The Legend of Zelda: Maw of the Earth: Prologue parts 1 and 2

by StellarBlitz



Series: The Legend of Zelda: Maw of the Earth (Prologue) [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, G/T, GT, Giant/Tiny, Good Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda), Human/Monster Romance, Interspecies Relationship(s), Maw of the Earth, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Prologue, Rescue, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Soup, Strangers to Lovers, hypothermia warning, zelda au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26149183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarBlitz/pseuds/StellarBlitz
Summary: In spite of Regent Impa's warnings, a headstrong Princess Zelda braves the fierce winter cold of Mt. Lanayru, in order to prove her worth by slaying the Blue Beast. However, she encounters a very different fate than she expected...
Relationships: Ganondorf & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Ganondorf/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Series: The Legend of Zelda: Maw of the Earth (Prologue) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898893
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	The Legend of Zelda: Maw of the Earth: Prologue parts 1 and 2

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! This is a new Zelda AU I've started! I originally posted these parts separately on Tumblr, but I'll be merging them for Ao3! 
> 
> It's a Zelda AU in the loosest sense, in that the characters are in name (sometimes role) only. Wanted to flex my worldbuilding muscles on this one :) you can learn more about it on my profile!

Opening the great mahogany door to Impa’s office, Princess Zelda of Lanayru felt a hitch in her breath. 

She knew she was asking for something absurd, something dangerous… but she remembered that tugging feeling in her brain, the one that compelled her to leave her native mountains and to adventure southward. What lied in waiting there was a mystery to her, but this feeling of separation from something, perhaps someone… it had haunted her for years. 

“Regent Impa?” She asked quietly. The regent, an older Sheikah woman, was busy at her desk, and looked towards the young woman with her characteristic chilly demeanor. She took over the position as leader of her people when her father died ten years prior, and was not a woman to be trifled with. Still, Zelda had been one of the few people Impa had trusted, and she trusted her as well.

“What is it, Princess?” she said, laying down her quill.

“I… have a request of you, Regent…” She stepped further into the room, which was lit by a warm fireplace which proved a welcome remedy to the bitter cold outside. 

“Sit and state it, then,” the regent said as she herself transitioned from her desk chair to a floor seat. Zelda obeyed, fidgeting with her gloves as she practiced how to phrase her request.

“In two days I will be 23 years old… the same age as many men in this kingdom are when they go off on adventures beyond our borders… I wish to do the same.”

Impa sighed. “You have made this desire clear before, Princess, but you are not ready for such an undertaking.”

The princess paused, taking in a weary breath. “With all of my respect, Impa, when will the time come when I am ready?”

“When you have mastered combat-”

“I have been training under you for years, Impa,” Zelda interjected. “If I can’t hold my own, then why would you train me?”

Impa paused, pursing her lips, before continuing, “... That, and when you learn to accept help from others.”

Zelda balked. “I am doing that at this moment, Regent.”

“Perhaps, but you seem intent on adventuring alone, are you not?”

“I can travel alone. I don’t need to be babysat!”

The regent sighed, adjusting her sleeves. “I should hope not, but this is not babysitting, it is cooperation. Those men who do go on adventures do so with help from others. You have not shown me that you are capable of working with others, so I have little faith that you could work alone…”

“I’ll prove to you that I can do it,” she blurts. Her face was growing hot… she felt like a child being talked-down to by a domineering parent, not a functional adult. “I’ll… I’ll slay the blue beast.”

She knew what she said was foolish… the blue beast was an unknown and enigmatic creature, thought to bring certain death to all who encounter it. Larger than ten men, and capable of becoming even larger and more powerful via some sort of magic, it’s unknown when and how the creature first appeared, but it has lurked near the kingdom up on Mt. Lanayru for centuries.

For once, Impa’s stoic face changed to disbelief. “Do not be foolish, Princess,” she hissed. “All that will do is bring you to the same end as your father.”

“If it does, then I am content to die the same way he did… fighting.” She sighed. “But if I return… then I cannot be shackled here any more.”

With that, the princess stood and left, slamming the door on her way out. Her whole body shook with anger and frustration, but as she returned to her own area of the castle those shakes turned to heaves as she began to sob. She hurried across the elevated pathway, rushing to get out of the cold. Her tears grew bitterly cold against her face with the chill outside, which stung and blurred her vision. 

Slamming the door once more to her room, she looked at her bow and quiver, neatly hung up on the wall near her bed. It was nearly dusk outside, which should mean that the night would obscure her movement…

As quietly as possible, she prepared for the coldest climb of her life.

…

Zelda snuck off, quietly and with as little movement and tracks as possible. If she moved fast enough, her footprints in the snow might be indistinguishable from those of the local fauna, she thought. 

Mt. Lanayru was virtually untouched by mortals, spearing into the sky as a beacon for travelers to her kingdom. It also got inhumanly cold during the winter months, and took many lives… including her father’s. 

Well, either the cold took her father's life… or it was the blue beast who slew him. Some see the blue beast as a mere apparition, as it seems to merely watch from a distance, and never approach. Those who attempt to investigate it- like her father, the King of Lanayru- never return…

The snow got deeper and deeper, reaching the lip of Zelda’s boots and starting to seep through her winter pants and to her skin. She was already tired after just a half hour of climbing, but she knew she had to continue… though she wished there was another way to prove her worth. 

It grew harder and harder to breathe as she ascended, each breath colder and drier than the last. Paradoxically, she felt quite hot on her skin, as if it were mid-summer. 

She kept moving… until…

The cold was getting the better of her. She collapsed into the frigid snow, her legs too weary to carry on and her breaths hampered by piercing cold air.

The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the starry sky between snow-covered trees…

. . .

Zelda’s senses soon returned to her, and she was greeted with… warmth. 

Her eyes eased open… before her was a small fire, though her vision wasn’t yet clear enough to make out much of anything else. She could smell something cooking over it, as well as the burning wood and the slightest whiff of damp cloth. The fire crackled gently, and she heard…

A voice, deep and resonant, humming a traditional tune of her people. 

She attempted to sit up, but her arms refused, leaving her lying there. Whoever had rescued her had stripped her down to her underdress and stockings, though she caught a blurry glimpse of her winter gear drying by the fire, alongside her other equipment. She felt a dense fur blanket in their place instead, shielding her in further warmth. She was warm, but not comfortable, as her body ached and stung, especially as she tried to move. 

The voice stopped humming at her movement. “Ah, you’re awake,” he said calmly. 

She was still unable to see the source of the voice, but a massive clawed hand entered her vision, poised gently. She flinched, and winced at the sudden movement.

“Do you wish to sit up?” The voice asked. “I can help you.”

She used what strength she had to nod, still flinching as the bestial hand drew closer. It was quite gentle, however, carefully sitting her up against the wall of… it seemed to be some sort of cabin.

Her eyes watched the hand retreat, following it to…

“The blue beast,” she whispered, her eyes growing wide as she took him all in: a massive body of dull blue fur, great tusks, shocks of flaming hair punctuating his body, great cloven hooves, sharp teeth… he retracted his clawed hand slowly, pursing his snouted lips. 

“It’s alright, I won’t… I will not hurt you…” he said quietly, lowering his towering body towards her. She winced, feeling his warm breath through his snout on her. She saw a long, whiplike tail scoot something toward her feet… a small bowl of soup. “Here… you should eat. It has been quite some time since I found you, and it will help you warm up.”

She looked at the bowl, then back at the creature. “You… you took my father’s life…” she whispered, with as much venom as she could muster before looking away. 

The creature recoiled, leaning back. “You… you’re the princess…”

“I am here to avenge him, yes… what have you done to me?”

“I-I did nothing,” the creature answered, his voice more firm than before, “and I did not kill your father. In fact, I prevented you from receiving the same fate as him.”

She paused, still glowering at him. “What do you mean?”

“He… I found him and his group… frozen to death.” The beast huffed, his menacing yellow eyes showing a hint of melancholy. “I wish I had found them before… Now I am far more vigilant when observing travelers up the mountain. I do not wish for them to encounter the same fate.”

She studied the creature… she was not yet ready to accept that her father merely froze to death, but the beast seemed to be telling the truth. 

“Please… you should eat,” the beast said, picking up the bowl. She mustered up enough strength to take it from his massive claw this time, watching him warily. He stepped back once more. 

“I am certain I am not… easy to trust,” he said, “but I am telling the truth. I mean you no harm.”

Ruminating on his words, she pondered her options. In her state, attempting to fight the creature would be suicide, and she was not properly dressed to flee from his capture. On the other hand… he had made no threat to her life yet, and he seemed to welcome her in, being as hospitable as a monstrosity could be. Perhaps it was in her own best interest to… play along. 

Cautiously, she took a sip of the soup, wincing at first at the temperature, but relishing the warm liquid as it fell to her stomach. Once it cooled, she was awed by how delicious it was. 

“Is it alright? Too hot?” The creature asked. 

She looked down at the bowl. “No, it’s… it’s delicious. Thank you.”

A fanged smile crossed his lips before he sat across from her on the other side of the fire, the flames casting his shadow across the ceiling and further heightening his looming presence. He took a ladleful of his own from the stewpot atop the fire, ladling it into a comparatively tiny bowl. 

“You may have as much as you wish, Princess,” he said, taking his own sip and finishing the bowl in a matter of seconds. Zelda huffed quietly, her attitude towards the creature turning from terror to… comfort. Amusement, even. 

“I-I do not wish to take too much. I am sure you want far more than me.”

“Mmh, I did. I had most of it already. This was my last bowl, but the rest is yours,” he said, smiling again and patting his large, round belly. “I believe there is enough here to feed two grown humans, still.”

She laughed, before flinching at the pain it caused. The creature’s face immediately fell to one of concern.

“Are you alright?”

She now realized how difficult it was to breathe, as if her lungs had shrunk. She coughed, looking at the creature. “I think I am just sore...” she murmured.

He sighed. “I suppose I should not be so fretful… you have just woken up, after all. Still, do let me know if it worsens.”

She peered back at it. “Do you have a name? Other than… other than the Blue Beast?”

He pondered that question for a moment. “A name, hm?… You… You may call me Ganon, for… nothing else seems to fit. So, Ganon will do.”

“Thank you, Ganon,” she said quietly. “Thank you for saving me…”

He smiled, a bit wearily this time. “I did what I could…”

For a moment they simply sat in silence, but this was cut short by the sound of drums faintly echoing from further down the mountain. Zelda recognized them as the traditional drums that started the new year’s eve celebrations… which meant she was missing those. 

Ganon also perked up at the sound of the drums. “Hmm… seems the new year is coming already.”

She simply nodded and continued eating. He glanced down at her. 

“You don’t object to them celebrating without their princess?” He asked. 

“I… was never of any importance to the festivities…” she said quietly. 

He huffed. “As I recall, there is a dance the young women of the kingdom partake in… even this doesn’t involve you, or at least interest you?”

She eyed him warily. “Even if it did… I don’t think I have the strength to dance…”

“I suppose not… surely you will not object to watching the fireworks later tonight, however.” He yawned, bearing more of his sharp teeth. “If I don’t fall asleep before then, that is…”

She smiled. “I suppose.”


End file.
